Rehan Dalal

"Music has always had a special place in my life. I grew up in a house where Jazz was played on the stereo into the wee hours of the morning. When I was six, I was pushed into piano lessons after my parents found me playing songs by ear on an old keyboard that was lying around at home. Four lessons later I decided that it was not for me. I packed up my playing hands and went back to being an avid listener. In my last year of High School I forgot about a physics project that I had due one day and I was forced to fake my way through it by borrowing a friends guitar and hooking it up to an oscilloscope. That was the moment my relationship with this beautiful instrument began. In the midst of my friends' obsessive classic rock, grunge and metal phases I was exploring acoustic acts like Dave Matthews and John Mayer that I had recently been introduced to. There was something about the honest singer-songwriter approach combined with the pulsing percusive acoustic guitar work that drew me in and I instantly wanted to learn how to play like that. I worked hard through the summer after graduation. Absorbing as much as I could from friends who played the guitar and locking myself up for hours on end to practice. By the time my first semester of University rolled around I was playing simple chords and had gotten the hang of a lot of the percussive strumming techniques. I have always loved writing so it was only natural that I tried my hand at songwriting. I was a prolific writer --- I would churn out two or three songs a week. But I never truly connected with anything I wrote back then, mere days after finishing a song I would hate it and it would get filed away not to see the light of day ever again. It was not until the end of the summer of 2006 that I finally wrote a song called 'Home To Me' and for the first time I had something I loved playing and it felt right. In the next couple of months I wrote a few more keepers and I started to understand how the songwriting process works. My writing slowed down, but became more focused and thoughtful. I started venturing out to open stages and began to tackle the art of performing. In late 2007, unsatisfied by the educational track I was on, I left University, packed my bags and moved to Toronto. By early 2008, once I was settled into my new environment, I began to religiously attend open mics around town and it wasn't long before I was booking shows. There is a vast sea of talent in this city and I was lucky enough to dive in and experience it first hand. I met and witnessed some remarkably talented musicians from whom I have learnt so much --- not the least of whom is Noah Zacharin, who continues to push me and help me to grow as a player. Most recently I had the opportunity to share the stage with David Ryan Harris (who is John Mayer's guitarist on tour, besides just being a phenomenal musician). I have also been making a run of the local festival circuit and landed a coveted showcase at Canadian Music Week. I am writing again, and have been listening to tons of new and interesting music that is constantly inspiring me to explore new styles. I'm excited to see where the future takes me but I know there will be a lot of great music along the way." ~ Rehan

Band Members

Rehan Dalal - Guitar / Vox